R&D tax credit for MedTech companies

Medical Technology (MedTech) is one of the largest, growing industries in the UK as the sector looks to bridge the gap between traditional diagnostics to harnessing the power and insight that can be gained through technology.

MedTech goes wider and deeper than diagnostics reaching into most parts of the medical world. The Thames Valley in particular is a hotbed of activity due to the concentration of leading universities and specialist companies focused solely on development. It is a sector that ranks highly as a beneficiary of R&D tax relief. R&D is in the very fabric of the industry. At the most basic level, for R&D tax purposes, development needs to satisfy two core tests:

An advance in science or technology

Scientific or technological uncertainty

As per the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) guidelines “R&D for tax purposes takes place when a project seeks to achieve an advance in science or technology.”

A typical claim is likely to include:

Software development

Hardware and resolving how that hardware interacts with software for the intended use

Creating efficiency in a process

Greater ability for analysis

Reducing surgical and recovery time

If you are involved in the MedTech world, or connected in some way to it, it is very likely that you will be in scope for R&D tax relief and also worth considering potential opportunities for Patent Box.

What qualifies for MedTech R&D?

Using a broad categorisation, there are five areas which R&D claims apply to in MedTech; staff costs, subcontractors, externally provided works (EPWs), consumables and heat, light and power. You can find out more about how we use this data throughout your R&D tax claim below:

The majority of most R&D tax relief claims are in respect of staff costs. This includes people directly involved with the activity and others who are indirectly involved. An example of direct costs would be a medical engineer – they tend to be defined technical roles who are the doers of the project. A common misconception is they have to be scientists and academics, this is incorrect. If they are a competent professional whose expertise is part of the R&D effort, then they should be included. Within MedTech a white coat can be helpful in identifying these resources.

Indirect staff are people who are also involved in supporting the R&D project such as management, procurement, purchasing etc where they help enable the R&D to happen and also are part of the management of the process. These costs are usually overlooked and can be a big impact on the claim.

Like subcontractors, you may not have permanent staff but want to have temporary staff for a particular role who act in the same way as employees – i.e. under your care custody and control. These costs form part of the claim.

How long will my claim take?

The claim process from initial engagement, submission and through to revenue takes on average four to six weeks. But this can be done in a matter of days if the information is ready. What is needed is to initially assess the viability from a financial point of view to make sure it’s worth making a claim, is a review of your management accounts and tax computations.

What steps does the process take?

If there is a good chance of making a claim, we then arrange the technical interview which will last approximately 2.5 hours. This is when our specialists drive out what is qualifying R&D. We never ask the question ‘Tell me about your R&D’? Why? The subject of R&D tax is much wider than academic definitions so we have a detailed conversation to understand your business and the projects you are undertaking.

What is in the report that goes to HMRC?

The report is then made up of two sections, the technical narrative comes first which is the most important part of the claim. Without it, or with a poor technical narrative, a claim is likely to be questioned by HMRC. The second is the financial report which breaks down the qualifying costs highlighted above.

The reports then go through a Quality Assurance process to check that the claim is robust and maximised.

Finally, these are both submitted to HMRC for review.

How long does it take to get an R&D tax relief claim paid by HMRC?

Payment of any credit or refund on previous paid tax is usually within 28-42 days although during a peak period, this may take longer for HMRC. Both of these result in cash back to the business.

If the R&D tax relief is taken as a reduction to your tax bill, this should be submitted no later than 9 months from your year-end date and will reduce your tax bill accordingly.

Case studies

Muscle slicing for analysis

A client is a leader in the field of muscular analysis which helps create a cure plan and preventative measures to avoid repeat injury. Part of this process was the removal or reconstruction of muscle of tissue. Doctors wanted to understand how the muscle damage had changed or remained injured post death. Products in the market were able to slice the muscle but our client wanted to go even thinner to see if it would give any greater detail. They set about developing a new way of freezing and then slicing the muscle down to a thinness that had never been done before. This project continues but is a clear example of how growing technology on other sectors could potentially be used to create an advance in medicine.

Large or small – there’s a scheme for your company

If you are a Limited company, whether you are profit or loss making, as long as you are operating as a going concern you can make a claim.

You are classed as a small or medium sized enterprise (SME): for the purposes of R&D tax incentives if you employ less than 500 employees and have either an annual turnover under €100 million or a balance sheet under €86 million.

SME
R&D tax reliefGet up to 33% back

Typically SMEs get back up to 33% of the amount they’ve spent on qualifying R&D. We know what HMRC are looking for, so we can ensure your claim is accurate.

You are classed as a large company for the purposes of R&D tax incentives if you employ more than 500 staff or you have a turnover of more than €100 million and more than €86 million in gross assets.

Large company
RDECGet almost 10% back

Large companies could get up to 10% of their R&D spending refunded through RDEC, the Large Company Research & Development Expenditure Credit.

What does it mean for you?

R&D for Tax purposes does not necessarily mean blue-sky research which is a common misconception that can prevent companies from receiving the benefits from HMRC that they are entitled to.

RDEC allows the benefit of R&D to be accounted for within the Profit and Loss (P&L) account, above profit before tax, rather than only through the tax account. So, under the RDEC scheme, large companies who are loss making are now able to benefit from their development efforts for the first time, by way of an immediate net of tax cash credit, which is tax exempt.

The RDEC also enhances the company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), therefore ends up being more lucrative for larger companies.

The scheme is now a straightforward subsidy against the level of R&D spend that your company incurs.

Why it feels different when you work with GovGrant

Our one and only goal is to get you the maximum benefit you deserve for innovating in the UK. When you meet our specialist, it will feel like you’re talking to a colleague rather than your advisor.

We don’t start with your balance sheet. We start by walking the floors and understanding the things you do and the things you make.

There is no conflict of interest. As this is all we do our advice will never conflict with other tax or audit advice you receive.

You are paying for our expertise (not to support a large corporate infrastructure). Experience tells us that when other firms prepare a claim that they leave some of the value off the table. Even the biggest names.

On average, we see an uplift of 200% over what companies have claimed themselves or using another adviser.

We are not the Big 4 ,and we are proud of it. We are the challenger and the better pair of hands. Innovation is about pushing the boundaries and embracing uncertainty to gain advancement.